• Sample Entrance Exam Questions.
  • Grammar (Time, one hour)
  • 7-10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.
  • 11. Analyze the following and parse words in italics
  • I cannot tell if to depart in silence,
  • Or bitterly to speak in your reproof,
  • Best fitteth my degree or your condition.
  • 12. Write the following in prose, and parse the verb awaits:
  • The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
  • And all that beauthy, all that wealth e'er gave,
  • Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:
  • The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
  • 13. Give a brief example of a compound and a complex sentence. Give the rule for the use of the subjunctive mood.
  • 14. Define and give the etymology of verb, prounoun, conjunction and adverb. Give example of a defective, an auxillary, an impersonal and a redudant verb. How many kinds of prounous are there? Give examples of each.
  • 15. Prior has the following sentence. State it if be good grammar. If not, why? If it be, parse the word than:
  • Thou art a girl as much brighter than her,
  • As he is a poet sublimer than me.
  • 16. Give rule for forming plural of nouns ending in "y," with examples. Give plurals of staff, radius, miasma, Miss White, rendezvous, talisman, loaf, grief, seraph, Mussulman, forceps, spoonful, who, beef, s, x, 6, and madam. Also give the singulars of kine, ashes, banditi [sic], swine, animalcula.
  • 17. Compare chief, much, former, far, forth, next, round, up, ill, full.
  • 18. Give the feminines of abbot, earl, duke, lad, marquis, hero, tiger, nephew, testator, bachelor, wizard, and ox.
  • 19. Write the past tense and past participle of these verbs:
  • Lay, Seek, Sit, Get, Dare,
  • Thrive, Lie, Set, Light, Loose,
  • Fly, Flee, Chide, Overflow, Catch,
  • Lose, Swim, Climb, Drink, Stay,
  • Leap, Quit, Swell, Burst, Eat.
  • 20. Define metonymy, catachresis, and hyberbole; and state the difference between a metaphor and a simile.
  • 21. Punctuate the following lines:
  • But when I ask the trembling question
  • Will you be mine my dearest Miss
  • Then may there be no hesitation
  • But say distinctly Yes Sir yes.
  • 22. Parse the three "thats" in the following sentence:
  • He that fears that dog thinks that he is mad.
  • Also parse the word "but" in each of the following:
  • There was no one but saw him;
  • We ran, but he stopped;
  • All ran but Peter;
  • If you did but know it.
  • 23. Correct the following:
  • (a) Although I persuaded the old man, he refused to yield, and I expect he divided his estate between his 3 daughters. His example, though he meant well, is calculated to have a bad effect.
  • (b) As I laid down I seen the smoke rising over the way.
  • (c) Whom do you say that I am? or who do you take me to be?
  • (d) John and James were both there, though neither were invited.
  • (e) As water is froze easier than alcohol, so riches are easier acquired than a good name.
  • (f) Between you and I, there is some mystery about that fire last night. Did you hear where it was at? I am glad none of my friends were in the house. I should be sorry if either James or William were inculpated in setting it on fire.
  • Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)

  • Put all your work on the paper and make it explain itself.

  • 10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.
  • 11. Define integer, fraction, interest, discount, power, and root.
  • 12. What effect has multiplying both terms of a fraction by the same number, and why; and why in dividing one fraction by another do you invert the divisor and multiply the terms together?
  • 13. If A's age were increased by its 3/7 its 4/5 and 19, the sum would equal 2-1/2 times his age; required his age.
  • 14. Multiply 7/8 by .000018 and divide the product by 27 millionths.
  • 15. 32 men agree to construct 28 miles 4 furlongs and 32 rods of road; after completing one-half of it, one-fourth of the number of men left the company, what distance did each man construct before and after one-fourth of the men left?
  • 16. A man drives 97 pegs on a straight line and spaces them 3 ft. 8 in. apart. What is the distance from the first peg to the last peg, lowest terms?
  • 17. A man receives $65 interest for the use of $600 for 3 years, 7 months, and 15 days. What is rate per cent.?
  • 18. What is due on the following note?
  • $1200 Zanesville, O., December 10, 1871.
  • One year after date I promise to pay to the order of Richard Roe twelve hundred dollars, value received.
  • JOHN DOE
  • 19. Give the rule for obtaining the difference of time, having the difference of longitude, and vice versa, and give the reasons for the rule.
  • 20. A square lot containing 54,756 square feet is surrounded by a close board fence 12 feet high. What would the boards cost at $13 per thousand?
  • U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
  • Orthography (Time, one hour)
  • 10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.
  • 11. Give etymology of orthography. What are mutes, labials, and liquids, and why so called?
  • 12. Give meaning of the prefixes, ante, anti, circum, quad, proto, oct, trans, sym, and con.
  • 13. Form derivatives of prefer, begin, stop, run, defy, abridge, tie, and die, with the suffix ing or ed.
  • 14. Write a word containing a diphthong, one containing a digraph, and one containing a trigraph.
  • 15. Define accent, and mark the accent on the words: inverse, diverse, adverse, reverse, obverse, calcine, piquant, orthoepy, abdomen, acclimated, area, salutatory, accessary, gondola, illustrate, prolix, portent, inquiry, contemplated, expert, extant.
  • 16. Spell the words (given orally)
  • Geography (Time, one hour)
  • 10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give inclination of the earth.
  • 11. Where does the earth have the greatest diameter?
  • 12. Why do we reckon 180 degrees of longitude and only 90 of latitude?
  • 13. What is meant by the equinoxes?
  • 14. Locate the Crimea, Bombay, Bay of Fundy, and the Capital of Mississippi.
  • 15. Into what three functions is the government of the United States divided? — define each function.
  • 16. Describe and locate the Indus and Niger rivers.
  • 17. Through what waters would a ship pass in going from Duluth to Odessa?
  • 18. Bound France and give five of its chief cities.
  • 19. Name the New England states and locate their capitals.
  • 20. Define equator, zone, latitude, and longitude.
  • 21. Into what bodies of water do the following rivers flow: The Danube, Rhone, Volga, Tiber, Rio Grande, Jordan, and Mahoning.
  • Source: http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.asp